カテゴリー: Culture
This documentary about women who make an epic annual trek across a rocky mountain pass draws an intriguing contrast between the vast landscapes and intimate family dynamicsBaato – “the path” in Nepali – is the extraordinary journey taken annually by vi…
Singer’s protest kiss with bandmate and criticism of anti-homosexuality law leads to ban and festival cancellationA three-day music festival in Malaysia has been cut short after the lead singer of the 1975 criticised the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws on s…
While the premise – an awful man learns from his much better wife – is serviceable, the plot, centring on a tour around second world war sites is woefully misjudgedMuch of this almost wondrously misjudged Bollywood film is perfectly palatable: the tale…
Inspired by birdsong and playing the obscure zither-like benju, the 78-year-old is enjoying a surge in global popularityIn early 2022, when Daniyal Ahmed set off on a road trip from Karachi in Pakistan into the neighbouring province of Balochistan , hi…
On race days outside the Royal Calcutta Turf Club, boisterous children and adults sell racecards emblazoned with BOL, ‘best of luck’. This jocular anachronism sets the tone for the afternoonAfter you pay your £2 entrance fee and heave yourself through …
Documentary follows Somi and her husband, who are struggling to live an ordinary life after their past as Naxalite guerrillasIf it’s the function of a documentary to open a window on the world – a part of the world that isn’t revealed by the nightly TV…
News anchor Kumar stays quietly courageous amid nationalist hysteria in Vinay Shukla’s tense documentary – but its final note of hope has been undermined by recent eventsEvents have overtaken this sombre documentary, which, though interesting and relev…
The academic’s discursive, wonderfully enjoyable account of South Asia’s journey from a British colony to three independent nations is a classicThe sudden rise of India over the past few years has taken many western observers by surprise. The Indian ec…
Military personnel speak frankly of the chaotic, terrifying evacuation, in moving new documentary series from Channel 4Just occasionally a documentary series makes you stop and rethink what you know of the world. Evacuation, three unforgettable films a…
The eminent journalist’s fearless reporting on India under Narendra Modi cost him his job and freedom. Now broadcasting to millions on YouTube, he is the subject of a new documentaryRavish Kumar was born near the same Indian city – Motihari in Bihar – …
Seafaring friends from Mumbai cope with a changing climate and an unforgiving economy in different ways in Sarvnik Kaur’s poetic, beautifully shot documentary Sarvnik Kaur’s patient, plangent documentary follows two fishers and friends from Mumbai’s Ko…
The cloud of poisonous gas that leaked from a rusting chemical plant in 1984 still blights the lives of tens of thousands of people in the Indian city, including many not born then. But Union Carbide never answered for the devastating contamination. Ph…
Poor box office performance reflects broader challenge for Hollywood as it vies with domestic productionsThe poor performance of Disney’s The Little Mermaid at the Chinese box office has reopened questions on Hollywood’s increasing difficulties in the …